Boston receives the largest Apple store in the U.S.

BOSTON (Reuters) - Apple Inc (AAPL.O: Quote, Profile, Research) unveiled its largest
U.S. store on Wednesday, a glass-facade building sheathed in
steel that a senior company official said reflects Apple's
plans to expand retail ventures at home and abroad.

Sandwiched between aging brick buildings, the minimalist
20,000-square-foot store stands out on Boston's historic
Boylston Street, featuring a ground floor with more than 100
Mac laptops and computers, a second level for iPod music
players and iPhones, and a third entirely for service.

Apple's second-largest store globally after London's Regent
Street offers a vivid glimpse into the latest retail thinking
at the Cupertino, California-based company as it prepares to
expand internationally with a new store in Beijing this summer.

"Concierges" stand at attention in orange shirts bearing
the slogan "I know people" -- part of changes made in recent
weeks to more thoroughly identify roles played by employees
with the color of their shirts worn in Apple stores.

A sales force of "specialists" wear aqua blue and
technicians are each dubbed "genius" as they work the third
floor wearing dark blue -- all projecting a trademark retail
image that has helped drive sales growth.

"These stores have served them very, very well and really
raised the bar in terms of technology customer service," said
Michael Gartenberg, an analyst at Jupiter Research, a
technology consulting firm.

Average revenue per store in the quarter reached $7.1
million, up 48 percent from $4.8 million a year earlier.
Meanwhile, operating profits at the stores more than doubled,
to $334 million in the quarter.

INTERNATIONAL PUSH

Ron Johnson, the senior vice president who leads Apple's
retail strategy, told Reuters on the sidelines of a news
briefing that international retail presence would be an
important driver of future sales.

"Today, Apple is about 50 percent international revenue and
about 50 percent in the U.S.," he said, standing next to a
large Apple icon hanging in the storefront that glows at night.
"We increasingly want to get our retail presence out in the
other countries."

Apple's latest filings with the U.S. Securities and
Exchange Commission show they operated 208 stores at the end of
the second quarter to March 29, compared to 177 a year earlier.
Of these, nine were considered "high profile" in high-traffic
neighborhoods with extensive amenities and products.

(Additional reporting by Scott Hillis in San Francisco;
Editing by Tim Dobbyn)